Floor or ceiling plate.



W. A. RUSSELL.

FLOOR 0R CEILING PLATE. APPLICATION FILED MAY I4, 1915- Patented M0. 4,1917.

'WILLIAM A., RUSSELL, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK.

FLOOR on CEILING PLATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.-

Patenteol Dec. a, 19W.

Applieation filed May 14, 1915. Serial No. 27,980; i

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM AzRnssnLli,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Yonkers, countyofWestchester, and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Floor or Ceiling Plates, fully described and representedin the following specification and the aocom: panying'drawings, forminga part of the same. I y I This invention relates to certainimprovementsin'floor or ceiling plates.

Floor and ceiling plates are now generally employed for surroundingradiator pipes, water pipes or other pipes which are exposed in a roomto conceal the hole in the floor or ceiling through which the pipepasses. To enable the plates tobe positioned about the pipe, the platesaremade in two parts which, in the constructions now generally used, areeither provided with two latches for locking the parts together, orpivotally united at one end and provided with a latch at the other. Insuch floor and ceiling plates it is desirable and has become customaryto formtheplate so that the eXposed surface ofthe plateis perfectlysmoothand plane,

such characteristics producing a neater and I morefinished appearance,the latches and the pivot by which the two parts are secured togetherbeing concealed'withinthe plate.

Where the plates are pivotally secured together at two of their ends,itfrequently happens that through carelessness of work- II men or forother reasons, the pivot point is broken .and the plate rendereduseless, or it becomes sprung so that the surface of the plateat thepivotal point is not flush, one

of the parts of the plate being raised above the otherythus; presentingan unsightly appearance and renderingthe plate of no use.

It is the special object of the invention to provide an improved hingeconstruction inplates of the above mentioned class which are'securedtogether at one'point by a swingingconnection and secured at anotherpoint by a latch or other suitable locking device, the hinge beingconstructed so as to obviate breakage as far as possible andtostand firmwhile the plate is being put in place and under conditions of use, sothat the surface of thelplate will be smooth and unbroken and-give thedesired neatIappearance.

For a full understanding ofthe invention,

reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which I I Figure 1is a bottom view of a floor plate embodving the invention and showingthe platein position around a pipe;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4: are detail sectional views taken on lines 33 and .lr-l,respectively,

of Fig. l and Fig. 5 is abottom view of the plate in its open positionand readyto be placed alt-out.

a pipe; I

Referringnow to these drawings,the improved plate comprises two members1, 2, generally semicircular in shape and concave, as shown in Fig. 2,thls concave being provided to afford a space for the latchor otherlocking device and hingeconstruction hereinafter referred to, so thatthey are concealed. The members 1, 2 areinteriorly formed by turning orbending a piece of metal to form the exterior flange i and an interiorpipe-encircling flange 5, and the metal when so-bent is cutstraightacross, forming thetwo members 1, 2. The pipe- 0 encircling flange 5 isat suitable I intervals formed with downwardly extending prolongationsorlegs" 6,-which enter the hole I around the pipe and frictionallyengage the pipe wall, as shown in Fig. 2, and hold the plate firmly inposition.

The two membersof the plate are adapted to besuitably locked together asby cooperating' latch elements which may consist, as shown, ofthespringtongue 7 carried by the member 1, thistongue cooperating with thelocking piece 8 which is carriedbythe f member 2 and provided with alocking slot9. The tongue? and the locking piece 8 are secured on theinner side of the members, and in the particular construction shown areintegral with supports 10, one for each mem her, which are secured tothe members, preferably by welding. thereto. These parts are I thusconcealed when the plate is in position. The two plates 1, 2 are unitedat their other ends by a hinge, by which the plates are firmly securedtogether and at the same time may have a swinging movement with respectto each other, so that the plates can be swungon the hinge to separatethem Ito enable them to be placed in position about a pipe. While thishinge may vary some- .tion.

what in construction, it is so formed as to effectually prevent thehinge from being broken, or distorted, so that one of the plates will beraised above the other, as is frequently the case where a simple pivotis em ployed, as in certain prior constructions. This hinge will,furthermore, be of such character that the plates will have a swingingmovement toward and away from each other, so that they may be separatedsufficiently to permit them to be placed in posi- W'hile the particularconstruction of the hinge may be somewhat varied, one of the plates 1, 2will be provided with a hingeplate or tongue which will engage asuitable member on the other plate with a swinging or sliding movementand will be held in firm engagement with such other member in both theopen and closed positions of the plate, so as to provide in either ofsuch positions of the plates, a strong, rigid structure.

In the best constructions, each of the plates 1, 2 will be provided witha hingeplate or tongue 11, 12, these tongues being arranged to overlapeach'other for a substantial distance in the open position of theplates, as shown in Fig. 5, and for substantially their lengths, whenthe plates are closed. These tongues overlap and have a relativeswinging or sliding movement with respect to each other, and to effectthis the tongues are preferably formed in the shape of an arc, the curveof the are being the reverse to that of the curve of the plates, as bestshown in Fig. 5. These overlapping tongues are held superposed in rigidengagement with each other in any suitable manner. A convenient meansfor effecting this is that illustrated in which the tongue 12, which inthe particular construction shown is the upper one, is formed withintegral lugs 13, which are bent so as to extend under the lowerv tongue11 on each side thereof. The plate 11 is formed with lugs 14- which arebent so as to extend over the upper plate 12. The plates are thus heldfirmly in engagement with each other. In addition to thus holding thetongues together, the lugs form complementary stops, the lugs 13engaging with the lugs 14, when the plates 1, 2

are swung open, and prevent the plates from swinging open too far andprevent the tongues from disengaging with each other. If desired, thetongues may be formed with a complementary bead and groove 15, 16, whichact both to strengthen the tongues, which preferably are of light metal,and fur ther act as a guide to cause the tongues to move truly in theirarcs when they are given their sliding movement to open or close theplates.

These tongues 11, 12 may be secured on the inner surface of the plates1, 2 in any suitable manner. To permit their free sliding movement andto provide a space for the lugs 14, they are offset slightly from theplane of the inner surface of the plates and may be convenientlysupported by being formed integral with bases 17, 18 secured to theinner surface of the respective plates 1, 2 in any suitable manner, andpreferably by being electrically welded thereto.

By the construction described a very rigid structure is produced,because of the fact that the tongues are always in firm engagement witheach other and are held against any substantial vertical yieldingmovement, with the result that the hinge is practically free frombreakage, and, because of its rigidity, the two plates are held in theirproper position and the desired smooth surface to the plates when theyare in position is obtained. V

While the invention has been described in its preferred form, it will beunderstood that certain variations in the form of the tongues, and inthe means for holding them rigidly in position, may be made withoutdeparting from the claimed invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A floor or ceiling plate including a pair of semicircular platesformed with a pipe-encircling central opening, two adjacent ends of theplates being provided with cooperating locking, devices and the othertwo ends of the plates being united by a pair of hinge members having arelative sliding movement and held in engagement with each other in boththe open and closed,

positions of the plates.

2. A floor or ceiling plate including a pair of semicircular platesformedwith a.

mg movement wlth respect to each other,

and means for holding the tongues in engagement with each other.

3. A floor or ceiling plate including a pair of semicircular platesformed with a pipe-encircling central opening, two adjacent ends of theplates being provided with cooperating locking devices and the other twoends of the plates being united by a hinge including a pair of tonguesoverlapping each other in both the open and closed positions of theplates and having a sliding movement with respect to each other, andintegral lugs on the tongues for holding them in engagement with eachother.

4. A floor or ceiling plate including a pair of semicircular platesformed with a pipe-encircling central opening, two adjacent ends of theplates being provided with cooperating locking devices and the other twoends being united by a hinge including a pair of overlappin tonguesrigidly secured to the inner surface of the plates and having integrallugs holding them in engagement with each other, said tongues bemgcurved reversely to the curve of the plates and offset from the surfacethereof and having a free sliding movement rela tively to each other,

5. A floor or ceiling plate including a pair of plates formed with apipe-encircling opening, two adjacent ends of the plates be ing providedwith cooperating locking devices and the other two ends of the platesbeing united by a pair of hinge members having a relative slidingmovement held in engagement with each other in both the open and closedpositions of the plates and provided with means for guiding them duringtheir movements.

6. A floor or ceiling plate including a pair of plates formed with apipe-encircling opening, two adjacent ends of the plates being providedwith cooperating locking devices and the other two ends of the platesbeing united by a hinge including a pair of tongues held in overlappedrelation with each other in both the open and closed positions of theplates and having a sliding movement with respect to each other, thetongues being provided with complementary bead and groove for guidingthem in their movements.

7 A floor or ceiling plate including a pair of plates formed with a pipeencircling opening, two adjacent ends of the plates being provided withcooperating locking devices, bases secured to the inner faces of theplates at their other ends, said bases being each formed with a tongueheld in overlapped relation with each other in both the 0 en and closedposition of the plates and 'orming a hinge, said tongues having asliding movement with respect to each other and provided withcomplementary bead and groove extending substantially the length of thetongues for guiding them in their movement and holding them securely inposition.

8. A floor or ceiling plate including a pair of plates formed with apipe encircling opening, two adjacent ends of the plates being providedwith cooperating locking devices, bases secured to the inner faces ofthe Plates at their other ends, said bases being each formed with acurved tongue held in overlapped relation with each other in both theopen and closed position of the plates, and forming a hinge, said curvedtongues having a sliding movement with respect to each other andprovided with complementary curved bead and groove extendingsubstantially the length of the curved tongues for guiding them in theirmovements and holding them securely in position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM A. RUSSELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

